More Than $35 Million for Maine’s Lobster Industry Advanced by Senator Collins in Funding Bill
More Than $35 Million for Maine’s Lobster Industry Advanced by Senator Collins in Funding Bill
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she advanced more than $35 million and key language to support Maine’s lobster industry in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill. The bill, which was officially approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee today, now awaits consideration by the full Senate and House.
“Flawed and incomplete data is being used to inform regulations, creating unnecessary, burdensome requirements for Maine lobstermen and women,” said Senator Collins. “This funding would support Maine’s iconic lobster industry by improving the incomplete and imprecise science upon which the federal government relies. As the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to advocate for this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”
Funding and legislative language advanced by Senator Collins in the FY 2024 CJS appropriations bill are as follows:
North Atlantic Right Whale:
- $30 million—a $4 million increase over FY23 levels—to the Atlantic Marine States Fisheries Commission for Right Whale related research and monitoring.
- $3 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Northeast Science Center Right Whale monitoring efforts in the Gulf of Maine.
- Language directing NOAA to work with Canada to develop risk reduction measures that are comparable in effectiveness to U.S. measures.
- $300,000 to continue the plankton recorder survey, to help inform conservation of the North Atlantic Right Whale.
American Lobster Research (Sea Grant): $2 million for Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank American lobster research. The report language would direct this research to be carried out through a partnership of state agencies, academia, and industry with a focus on “stock resilience in the face of environmental changes” and “topics necessary to respond to newly implemented or future modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.”
Gray Zone: Report language would direct NOAA to work with Canadian and state fisheries officials to develop a cooperative fisheries management plan in the Gray Zone. Lobstermen and fishermen who work in the Gray Zone—an area located approximately ten miles off the coast of Maine between the U.S. and Canada—are growing increasingly frustrated that their Canadian counterparts who fish in the same areas are not required to follow the same regulations, and thus are undermining American protections and threatening the sustainability of the stock.
In addition to this funding, Senator Collins also advanced $36.65 million in Congressionally Directed Spending for 17 requests across Maine through the Fiscal Year 2024 CJS appropriations bill. This includes $440,000 for the University of Maine (UMaine) to develop a North Atlantic Right Whale Habitat Characterization Plan.
This funding and language advanced through the Committee’s markup of the FY24 CJS appropriations bill—an important step that now allows the bill to be considered by the full Senate. Committee consideration of legislation is a key part of regular order, which helps our government function efficiently and deliver results for the people of Maine and America.
